Issue briefs and reports

Issue briefs and reports

Our programs and centers deliver in-depth, highly relevant issue briefs and reports that break new ground, shift opinions, and set agendas on public policy, with a focus on advancing debates by integrating foundational research and analysis with concrete policy solutions.

The Kremlin’s actions in Syria: Origins, timing, and prospects

Report Mar 30, 2026

How the West lost the post-Cold War era

By Brian Whitmore

The latest Atlantic Council Eurasia Center report examines the lessons from the post-Cold War period and what the United States and its allies can do to counter Russian revanchism today.
Europe & Eurasia Politics & Diplomacy
The Kremlin’s actions in Syria: Origins, timing, and prospects

Atlantic Council Strategy Paper Series Feb 10, 2026

Global Foresight 2036

In this year’s Global Foresight edition, our experts share findings from our survey of geostrategists on how human affairs could unfold over the next decade. Our scholars spot “snow leopards” that could have major unexpected impacts over the next decade. And our tech experts put AI’s forecasting ability to the test.
Africa Central Asia
The Kremlin’s actions in Syria: Origins, timing, and prospects

Issue Brief Mar 19, 2026

Federal agencies under pressure need smarter systems, not tougher people

By Caitlin Thompson

Resilience is an important trait for national security practitioners, but it is not a solution for problems with agency and department design. Better systems and strategies can ensure that individuals are fully prepared and ready to respond to crises, rather than consistently under strain.
National Security Resilience

Content

Report

Mar 24, 2016

The Kremlin’s actions in Syria: Origins, timing, and prospects

By Frederic C. Hof, Vladislav Inozemtsev, Adam Garfinkle, Dennis Ross

Resolution to the conflict in Syria requires an understanding of the Russian intervention, involvement, and interest therein. Putin’s interest in regaining the “influence that the Soviet Union once enjoyed in the Middle East” shapes how the West must engage Russia, as Ambassador John E. Herbst highlights in The Kremlin’s Actions in Syria, a new report […]

Arms Control Conflict

Report

Mar 24, 2016

Saudi energy changes: The end of the Rentier State

By Jean-François Seznec

Saudi Aramco is the largest oil company in the world, and the Saudi dependence upon it has become strained. Dr. Seznec provides a comprehensive examination of Saudi energy assets and the potential diversification and reform measures the Monarchy could take to stabilize their economy.

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

Report

Mar 23, 2016

Democracy Rebooted: The Future of Technology in Elections Report

By Conny B. McCormack

Given the number of elections set to occur this year around the world—including the upcoming presidential election in the United States—how we vote will be in the spotlight. We are at a crucial moment to review our policies that influence elections and the technology we use to execute them. A new report launched by the […]

Issue Brief

Mar 22, 2016

What’s left of Europe if the far right has its way?

By Alina Polyakova and Anton Shekhovtsov

Far-right parties are on the rise in Europe, particularly in the post-soviet space. The 2008 financial crisis provided these parties with an electoral boost, and the refugee crisis threatening the continent has inflamed nationalist and xenophobic populism. In this new issue brief, “What’s Left of Europe if the Far Right Has Its Way?”, Dr. Alina […]

Central Europe Civil Society

Issue Brief

Mar 21, 2016

Train, hone, deter

By Matt Brand

NATO exercises play a vital role in ensuring that Alliance forces can respond to any contingency quickly and effectively. Not since the early 1990s has NATO’s exercise program drawn as much attention from NATO’s national leaders as it does now, due in large part to Russia’s increasingly aggressive misbehavior. The NATO exercise program provides the vital functions of keeping the member states’ forces interoperable by integrating new technologies into the force, practicing new doctrine, and validating units for their rotation into contingency roles, like the NATO Response Force.

Europe & Eurasia NATO

Atlantic Council Strategy Paper Series

Mar 15, 2016

Autocracies failed and unfailed: limited strategies for state building

By Stephen D. Krasner

The fundamental challenge for modern wealthy democracies committed to promoting better governance is that their opportunities are hostage to the preferences of national elites in closed-access polities, where political power is exercised in arbitrary ways, and where most of the population lacks access to services, including the rule of law.

Afghanistan Africa

Issue Brief

Mar 14, 2016

Why the Congo matters

By Gérard Prunier

With a population of almost 80 million people and unparalleled natural resources, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the DRC or the Congo) is a country of tremendous potential—but only that. One of the most violent places on earth, its people suffer from the brutality of armed groups and political instability. Now, President Joseph Kabila’s […]

Africa Corruption

Report

Mar 11, 2016

The new Argentina: Time to double down on the energy sector?

By Cristian Folgar

Argentina’s new government must build on economic reforms by further revising regulations for the energy sector. This is necessary to take advantage of the full producing potential of a sector that will be critical for jumpstarting the economy, moving manufacturing and bringing in foreign direct investment.

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

Issue Brief

Mar 10, 2016

US oil export outlook

By Amrita Sen

In December 2015, a forty-year ban on US crude oil exports lifted. Rapid advancements in US shale oil production played a crucial role in lifting this ban. What are the realities facing US oil exports?

Energy & Environment Oil and Gas

Report

Mar 4, 2016

A US strategy for sustainable energy security

By David Koranyi

The national energy system of the United States is aging and has to be renewed in a dynamic fashion to adapt to the transformative changes in the world of energy. Failure to do so will result in substantial economic disadvantage and national security vulnerabilities, and risk the United States’ position as the leading global power […]

Climate Change & Climate Action Energy & Environment
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